Chris Papadopoullos was City A.M.'s economics reporter until February 2016.

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Chris Papadopoullos

President Vladimir Putin departs Brisbane Airport after the the G20 summit (Source: Getty)

G20 leaders promised market-led reforms to boost growth at the weekend’s summit in Brisbane that saw Russian President Vladimir Putin controversially leaving early and further progress made on a free trade agreement between the US and EU.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel said the EU was considering further sanctions against Russian individuals and spent hours discussing the situation with Putin.

Meanwhile, David Cameron said “rocket boosters” have been put under a new free trade deal between the EU and the US after a successful set of discussions.

He believes the Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership can boost growth, jobs and investment. Cameron was also keen to rebut claims that the trade agreement could potentially harm the National Health Service.

“There’s no threat, I believe, from TTIP to the National Health Service, and we should knock that on the head as an empty threat.”

G20 members also said they had made significant progress on new international tax rules aimed at cracking down on tax avoidance – the Base Erosion and Profit Shifting Action Plan. According to an official statement, the G20 nations are committed to finalising the new tax proposals in 2015.